Dana to build UAE’s largest gas line

After months of speculation about Dana Gas’ first “large” project announcement, the company has signed an agreement with Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (Emarat) to build, own and operate a gas pipeline from the Sharjah gas hub at Sajaa to the Hamriya Free Zone.

After months of speculation about Dana Gas’ first “large” project announcement, the company has signed an agreement with Emirates General Petroleum Corporation (Emarat) to build, own and operate a gas pipeline from the Sharjah gas hub at Sajaa to the Hamriya Free Zone. Since Dana Gas, the first private sector energy enterprise, went for its IPO in August last year, a project announcement has been imminent. A press release issued on this occasion said that the 30-kilometre gas pipeline was the largest in the UAE. “Through this key agreement, we are delighted to partner with Emarat, an established and experienced gas pipeline operator in the Northern Emirates. We anticipate this to be the beginning of a fruitful relationship of mutual co-operation and benefit, both to the private as well as the public sectors,” said Hamid Dhiya Jafar, executive chairman of Dana Gas. The value of the contract is estimated at AED670 million (US $182.5 million), and the gas pipeline has a design capacity of one billion cubic feet of gas per day. The pipeline is expected to be constructed within one year, for commencement of operations towards the end of 2006. Dana Gas and Emarat will have a 50-50 partnership in the construction, ownership and operation of the project. The three users of the pipeline, who have entered into the 25-year contract to share its capacity, are the Federal Electricity and Water Authority of the UAE (FEWA), the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA), and the gas marketing company Crescent National Gas Corporation Limited (CNGCL), which is an affiliate of Dana Gas. Hot on the heels of this announcement, came the appointment of Rashid Al Jarwan as the new general manager of Dana Gas. Al Jarwan previously worked for over 30 years in the ADNOC group of companies.